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Making Sure Your Parent’s Golden Years Are As Bright As Possible

9:27 PM

We sometimes get into the habit of thinking that our duty is only to our children, that all our energy and resources should go into making sure they have everything they need to become well-rounded, productive members of society. But that’s not the case; we also have a duty to our partner, to our friends. And of course, also to our parents, the two adults who made sure that we were able to walk out into the world with confidence. You’ll one day hope that your children are there for you when you’re older. Now’s the time to make sure that your parents can fully enjoy their golden years.

Get Them Involved

Your parents have no expectation (and, in all likelihood, desire) that they’ll be your whole world. They know that you have a home, job, and family to juggle. They would, however, like to be involved in your life. It’s easy for time to slip you by when you have so much going on, but it’s important that you make the time to include your parents in your daily life. A simple phone call filling them in on what’s been going on would be appreciated, as will invites to your family outings. They’re easy things for you to do, but it’ll make a big difference.

An Eye on their Health

There’s no denying that your parents are more liable to fall ill as they reach their later years. It’s just a fact of life. The trouble is, while you’ll be able to spot a deterioration in your parent’s health, they might not see it for themselves. As such, it’ll be up to you to “manage” your parent’s wellbeing, unobtrusively of course. You’ll need to be on hand to ensure they’re getting their regular checkups, and also decide when it’ll be better for them to move into facilities that have services like those offered by CaregiverConnection's team. Parents can sometimes need a bit of encouragement to take care of their own health; if they’re avoiding the responsibility, then you’ll be on hand to nudge them in the right direction.

Upright and Active

However, that’s not to say that their health should be the defining topic of their older years. Not at all. There’s always the capacity to be up, active, and a functioning part of society. This begins by, well, being up and active! No matter where you live, there’ll be classes that are aimed at older generations, so take your parents along (in some cases, you may be able to go with them). There are plenty of benefits of being active during a person’s retirement years, most notably reducing the chance of being injured from falls and trips, having more energy, and having a boosted immune system.

Encourage New Friends and Hobbies

Everyone’s guilty of staying in the rut they created for themselves when they were in the ‘prime’ of their life. The same friends, the same hobbies, the same worldviews, and so on. There’s some comfort in this, but there’s much more to say for being open to new experiences, making new friends, and finding new hobbies. Now that they have more free time, encourage your parents to get involved with new activities and social groups. Aside from the joy they’ll get from trying new things, it’ll also help stave off one of the main symptoms of old age: loneliness.

Time Just For Them

You’ve got a lot going on in your life, but that doesn’t mean that you should act as if you’re doing your parents a favor by spending time with them. If you only want to spend time with them when it suits you (such as inviting them as an addition to things you were already attending), then when will you get to do all the things that they want to do? From time to time, ask your parents what they’d like to do. Let them pick their favorite restaurant, and then have everyone go along for a meal there. They’re small gestures, but ones that will make your parents happy.

Simple Pleasures

There’s a lot of ways people in old age can continue living life to the full, but there are also some practical limitations to think about, too. Indeed, part of making their golden years so bright will be enjoying seeing them winding down and gaining pleasure from the simple joys in life. If they’ve got an inner peace, there’ll be happy sitting at home with their family as they will be being up doing things!

You only live once, so chase what you love and live a good life. Mom of all trades, a happy mom to three children, works as a Full-time Online Freelancer, mommy blogger since 2013. Maintaining a positive attitude despite of a busy, crazy, and chaotic mommy life. For business, email me laigamboa8@yahoo.com.